Jasper American Piano

[Farrell]

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I'll interspese my comments with your post below - look for **

Terry Farrell
Piano Tuning & Service
Tampa, Florida
mfarrel2@tampabay.rr.com
  ----- Original Message -----=20
  From: Billbrpt@AOL.COM=20
  To: pianotech@ptg.org=20
  Sent: Wednesday, November 22, 2000 9:36 AM
  Subject: Re: Jasper American Piano


  In a message dated 11/22/00 8:04:44 AM Central Standard Time,=20
  mfarrel2@tampabay.rr.com (Farrell)=20
  writes:=20



    > "Instead of the high flight tune-offs between Coleman & Smith, the =

    > ultimate PTG challenge might have been having a couple of our=20
    > superstars each uncrate one of those puppies, and after a frenzy =
of=20
    > string seating and hammer needling, see what they could turn them=20
    > into."=20

    Now that is an interesting thought. Give 'em maybe four to eight =
hours -=20
    anything goes - and see what they can do. I'll bet a GREAT =
EDUCATIONAL=20
    DIVIDEND would result. Are you reading this Dale Probst??? Who is =
running=20
    the show in Reno this year??? Are you reading this??? Is this an =
idea or=20
    what? Anything to increase the tolerability of some of these =
offensive=20
    little critters.=20



  Frankly, Terry, I don't see this happening.  As someone who deals with =
this=20
  kind of piano, fine grands and everything in between, I can tell you =
that you=20
  learn to look at the piano and the expectations of the customer as =
individual=20
  cases.  The old saying, "You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's =
ear"=20
  comes to mind.  The lady thought it sounded pretty good as it was and=20
  speaking pragmatically from experience, that already counts for a lot. =


  Doing what you and the other writer suggest, tearing the piano apart, =
seating=20
  strings, replacing materials, etc., would only end up making you, the=20
  technician look like some kind of con artist who would try to "sell =
ice to=20
  Eskimos".  If this piano had not been tuned in years but the customer =
is not=20
  concerned about pitch, why try to *force* that issue?  If she agrees =
that it=20
  sounds "tinny" and it is obvious that the hammers were overly =
hardened, why=20
  not just squirt a little alcohol on them or use Roger Jolly's steam =
method?=20

  ** No one said anything about rebuilding the lady's 5 year old =
Kimball. The post regarded a free-floating thought for a convention =
class. Nothing more than a whim at this point. Often some of the best =
learning experiences are those that take us to a realm that we might =
otherwise not ever go to (And BTW, the hammers were so deeply grooved, =
that I would not want to steam them - I would be afraid that the first =
time they hit the string, they would stick!)

  Now, I might do things like vacuum out dirt, lube, tighten screws, =
adjust=20
  lost motion, let-off, key level and dip, file and basically voice =
hammers on=20
  a piano like this when the time comes and the customer agrees.  But in =
this=20
  case, it is a newer instrument which was obviously purchased more as a =
piece=20
  of furniture than as a musical instrument.  It would be best to simply =
tune=20
  while perhaps raising the pitch a small but comfortable amount and use =
a=20
  quick and easy voicing technique that would soften the overly hard =
hammers.=20

  ** I stated in my post that the daughter plays the piano and she has =
been taking classical piano lesson from a very prominent local teacher =
for six years. In my opinion she needs the piano well tuned at A=3D440. =
Anything less would not be doing my job, IMHO.

  If the tuning pins are tight, take that as a positive thing, not =
negative. =20

  ** I did not comment on that.

  The back structure of these kinds of pianos is a solid as a rock.  You =
can=20
  count on at least that part of it to hold up for a lifetime.  Use the =
kind of=20
  tuning hammer and/or technique that will allow you to move those pins. =
 Don't=20
  worry about false beats if there are any, the customer can't =
distinguish such=20
  fine points.

  ** The daughter was complaining that her piano does not sound like her =
teachers. I think she may be able to distinguish such fine points.

  Don't badmouth the piano in any way.  Tell her it "looks nice"=20
  in her living room and "sounds pretty good" when you are finished =
tuning, *in=20
  the usual amount of time and for the usual fee*.=20

  ** I did, but it took a lot of lip biting to not tell her to get her =
daughter a real piano for playing Chopin & Beethoven.

  Lastly, do you think I would *insist* on tuning in ET for all of the =
reasons=20
  people give?  Never, never, never.  The beauty of knowing a variety of =
HT's=20
  or creating a unique temperament as I have with the EBVT is that you =
really=20
  can make such a piano sound ever so much sweeter to the people who own =
it.=20

  Time and again in my career, I have done the simple, practical, useful =
and=20
  appropriate things to service the small, common piano and have built a =
loyal=20
  and contented clientele while others who "only do Steinways" and who =
have=20
  proposed "rebuilding" an instrument which is essentially new have been =

  labeled as crooks and gone out of business.  If there is to be a =
Convention=20
  program about how to handle a piano like this, it should be about how =
to do=20
  the basic and practical things easily and efficiently, not on applying =
the=20
  techniques used on fine, expensive instruments where they will do =
little or=20
  no good.=20

  ** Again, go beyond the normal to see what happens. I'm not even =
seriously pushing for a class in maxing-out a Kimball console. It just =
sounded like an idea with some potential benefits, so I said so.

  Bill Bremmer RPT=20
  Madison, Wisconsin=20

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